


The Fairytale of New York

by SillyLioness



Series: Not Exactly Legal (Modern AU) [4]
Category: Band of Brothers
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/F, M/M, Modern AU, Multi, Not Exactly Legal AU
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-04-09
Updated: 2016-04-09
Packaged: 2018-06-01 07:10:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,377
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6507754
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SillyLioness/pseuds/SillyLioness
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Dick is in love with his best friend. Carwood thinks he as a crush on his boss. George has been struck by a lightning, figuratively. Christmas is getting closer and closer. And on top of it all there is some illegal business involved.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Fairytale of New York

**Author's Note:**

> The title is (obviously) from the Pogues' song. Enjoy! Part of my modern AU: silly-lioness.tumblr.com/tagged/not+exactly+legal+au

Carwood had missed Dick and his calm and steady presence that had already helped him through their apprenticeship in his troublesome early twenties, so catching up over dinner was a welcome change to his cramped apartment with the busted heating. Dick's place on the other hand was organized neatly, yet homey and warm, especially now that the harsh wind blew thick snowflakes against the windows in front of a black sky. Thinking about it Dick's flat was like Dick himself in a way.

When Carwood had arrived Dick was already done with preparing dinner so the only thing he could contribute to their evening was to set the table. Even so Carwood felt uncomfortable knowing that Dick had spent his noon cooking for him. Dick had told Carwood repeatedly that it was fine, but it wasn't enough to fully convince him. Carwood thought it would have been awkward meeting Dick after a long period of irregular phone calls and occasional letters but it was quite the opposite. When they settled down for dinner it already felt like they saw each other every day again. Carwood silently scolded himself for thinking differently – Dick was easy to be around and you could always count on him, why should this have changed?

“Looks and smells great,” Carwood complimented Dick's cooking before following Dick's example and helped himself to some mashed potatoes and fish. Dick smiled softly and nodded.

“Enjoy your meal.”

“Likewise.”

They ate in pleasant silence, only broken by Carwood complimenting the taste of his meal as well.

When they finished Dick put his plate aside and leaned back a little to look at Carwood.

“On the phone you said you are working for an attorney now. How's that?”

“Oh, it's actually quite nice. Less stressful than my previous job and closer to home, too.” Dick nodded. He had noticed that Carwood seemed less overworked, even relaxed, than when he was still working for Norman Dike's law firm.

“What are they called? If I may ask, of course.”

“Sure. It's Speirs and Fick. They both specialize in tax law. Nate, he's Fick, is nice to work with. You see, he knows what he wants and mostly won't have it any other way, but he's pleasant to be around and actually quite friendly once you get to know him. Then there is Charles. He just graduated from Stanford – don't ask me what he's doing in New York, if I was him I would have stayed where it's nice and warm – at the top of his class and all. I think he does a good job, but sometimes I feel like there is a lot of pent up youthfulness in him... as in parties a lot and so on, but then again he probably didn't have the time to do that when he was in university.” Carwood took a deep breath and looked at Dick, who listened closely.

“He really is a good kid, though,” Carwood added, feeling the sudden need to defend Grant.

“I thought so,” Dick laughed a little, “I mean, if you say he does a good job it's probably true. I take it that he isn't Speirs?”

“No,” Carwood said and let out a sigh. “Speirs is a whole nother story. See, he's nice and all, but he is also kind of, I don't know, shady? Mysterious? And he behaves quite strange sometimes. He barely ever talks and then he says something, you know, compliments and so on, that makes it seem like he wants to get to know you or be closer to you. But I don't think he actually wants that, because, to speak frankly, he seems like a loner.”

“But you like him?” Dick asked and maybe he was a bit curious.

“Yeah, well, now that is the actual problem. I think I like him, maybe a little too much. I actually want to be closer to him, because even with all his... weirdness, he seems like a genuinely nice person and once you get to talk to him, he can be quite thoughtful and, well, interesting.” It was not like Carwood to talk that much and he felt like he should apologize to Dick for rambling on and on about his stupid crush for his boss.

“For God's sake, I don't even know if he's into men,” Carwood mumbled and raised his hands in frustration.

“Well, as you know I'm not the best address for relationship advice,” Dick began and thought about his sad crush on Lewis and the futile tries to tell him about his feelings, “but if you ask me, I think you should try to at least befriend him, see if he likes men and maybe go from there. The worst that could happen is you have a new friend.”

“Thanks Dick and I'm sorry for talking about this for so long, it is just a crush anyway, it's not like I've fallen deeply in love with him.” Carwood sighed and gave Dick an apologetic look. He knew it didn't bother Dick, but it still felt like it.

“Oh, don't worry. You know, it's nice to talk about this and not something work-related. I feel like my social life has suffered greatly from getting a full-time job.” Dick smiled crookedly and shrugged.

“I don't even know when I visited my mom the last time. I feel like I'm a terrible son.” Carwood sighed and rubbed a hand over his forehead. He knew exactly what Dick was talking about.

“Don't lie. You aren't a, as you say, terrible son. I think as far as I can judge you're a wonderful son and I'm sure your mother understands that you have a busy schedule. Huntington isn't exactly around the corner.” Carwood appreciated that Dick still saw the best in people and told them so.

“Thanks. I think I'll visit her on or after Christmas. If I get a few days off, that is.”

“I'm sure she will be happy if you come and visit her,” Dick agreed with a soft smile.

It was almost midnight when Carwood got up to leave. He felt bad for leaving Dick with all the dishes and while putting on his coat he considered staying and helping Dick to clean up. He was pretty sure, though that Dick would refuse his offer and he really needed to get some sleep.

“It was so good to see you again. We should meet more often,” he said as he gave Dick a brief embrace and a warm smile.

“We should,” Dick replied and squeezed Carwood's shoulder for a moment. “Take care.”

“I will,” Carwood responded, giving Dick a short nod, “You too.”

“Of course.” Dick smiled and held the door open. When Carwood was almost around the corner of the first flight of stairs, he called “be safe” after him and closed the door.

Dick sighed when he stepped into the living room and rubbed his neck. He actually thought about just leaving the plates and pans and going to bed, but he knew he'd regret it in the morning. With a heavy sigh, he collected the cutlery from the table and placed it in the sink, before carrying the plates to the kitchen. He hummed softly while rinsing the plates and pans, at some point he even turned the radio on.

~~

Johnny was fired up for this match. Through his adrenaline rush he barely felt the cut on his eyebrow that Buck had placed a makeshift band-aid on. The smell of cigarette smoke and liquor lingered in the air and he could hear the whispering of the spectators, discussing bets, winning chances and whatnot. He looked up and watched the crowd. He was pretty sure most bets were in favor of his opponent, but that was what Malarkey wanted because they both knew Johnny was going to win this fight. Most people underestimated Johnny due to his height disadvantage, but it was no secret that Johnny was a mean motherfucker.

Seeing that he only had little time left before round nine was going to start he pushed past Buck, who was standing in front of him and talked to him urgently. He bumped his gloved fists against each other and settled into a fighting stance, eying his opponent. When the ringing bell opened round nine Johnny first tested the waters again with a jab. Even though his jab was blocked Johnny was sure his opponent's guard was coming down. The speed which that his opponent was throwing his punches also seemed to decrease, making it all the more easy for Johnny to let the punches slip past him.

When Johnny felt the time was right, he delivered a fast jab to the face of his opponent. Even though his fist only met his high guard, it gave Johnny room to strike his opponent's gut with an upper-cut of his rear hand. Johnny could almost feel the air leaving the other man's body. When his upper body fell forwards only slightly, Johnny quickly twisted his front foot and swung his left fist, driving it straight to his opponent's chin. Johnny was quite sure it had been the hook to the head that sent the other guy to the floor.

As he waited for the referee – if you could call him that – to count to ten, he felt the blood rush through his ears and that was pretty much the only thing he heard. For a brief moment he had zoned out, forgetting even the ringing in his ears and the throbbing pain in his head that was growing stronger by the minute. Only Buck's loud cheer and his arm around his shoulders brought Johnny back to the ring.

Numbly he followed Buck through the rows of spectators to the cramped locker room and let himself be pushed onto a bench.

“That was sick, Martin,” Buck declared with a smug grin and took out Johnny's gumshield, before handing him a bottle of water. “Drink something, alright? I'll get Malark... and probably Eugene or someone to take a look at your head.” Johnny nodded and his eyes followed Buck out of the room. They dropped to the floor when he drank from his bottle and afterwards he leaned his head back against the cold metal door of a locker. He was done for tonight, Johnny had to admit. He felt like shit. Even though he'd won he still felt like he'd been run over by a truck.

Johnny cracked one eye open when he heard voices approaching – Buck, Malarkey and a drunk. That meant Nixon was probably with them. Johnny had taken a good guess, because when the three of them entered, both Buck and Malarkey were holding Nixon upright. Johnny snorted – he wasn't the only person that was done for tonight.

“Hey, you did a great job. Damn, did you see his face when he went down? For a moment I thought you whacked him!” Malarkey exclaimed excitedly, probably because of the money Johnny had won with his victory.

“I better call Dick, though. Look at Nix, he's completely wasted. I really hope he doesn't throw up now,” he babbled and fished his phone from his pocket. Johnny eyed Nixon warily and moved away from him a little, trying to get out of the zone of immediate danger should Nixon actually vomit.

~~

The shrill ring-tone of his phone startled Dick from his slumber. Even when he saw that Lewis was calling, he still couldn't suppress an annoyed groan. Sleeping had felt nice.

“What is it, Lewis?” he asked after taking the call.

“Oh, hey, Dick. Did I wake you? It's me, Don. Can you,” Malarkey felt a little bad for asking, Dick sounded tired, “can you pick up Nix. He's, uh, you know.” Dick sighed and rubbed a hand over his eyes, before standing up and stretching.

“Sure. Where? Is he alright?”

“Yeah, so far he's doing fine,” Malarkey replied, before he told Dick the address.

“I'm as good as on the way.” Dick ended the call and put his phone in the pocket of his pants. He was glad that at least Malarkey was with Lewis, so he wouldn't do anything too stupid – at least Dick hoped so. Looking out of the window he decided it was probably for the best to wear a winter coat and a scarf. At least it had stopped to snow, but the wind was still pulling at the branches of the leafless trees.

When he stepped out of the front door Dick knew it had been the right decision. But even through the multiple layers of clothing he still felt cold. He hurried to his car and turned on the heating as soon as he sat down. Dick didn't really like driving in the dark, he liked it even less in winter, but what could he do? Someone had to get Lewis home and that someone sure wouldn't be either of his parents. At least the traffic wasn't as bad as he had expected. Dick felt to say the least a little odd when he parked his 2004 Polo between the BMWs and whatnot. Despite everything in his body telling him to stay in the warmth of his car, he got up and walked to the back entrance of the old industrial building. He could imagine why Lewis was here, beside liquor.

Quickly Dick found the locker room that Malarkey had written about in his text message following the call. It smelled like sweat and maybe even a little blood, but that could be his imagination. He knocked and pushed the door open. Even with only five, now six, people in it the room seemed crowded. Dick didn't know what to focus on first – Johnny, who got his forehead bandaged by Eugene (poor guy, always getting dragged into this just because his partner was friends with one of Buck's former fighters), Buck and Malarkey, who were talking animatedly, or Lewis, who was leaning against the wall and looked like he was trying his best not to fall to the ground.

“Good evening,” Dick greeted them and raised his hand for a moment.

“Hey, Dick, good that you're here. I really don't think Nix can make it home alone. I'm sorry to bother you, really, but you know...”

“It's alright, Don, I'm glad I can help,” Dick interrupted him and gave him a small smile, before he turned to Lewis.

“Hey Lew. Are you okay? I'll take you home, alright?” He gently rubbed his hand over Lewis' upper arm. Lewis nodded slowly and leaned into Dicks touch.

“Let's get you out of here then. Good night you all,” Dick said as he wrapped his arm around Lewis and opened the door. Despite Lewis' condition the way to the car wasn't even half bad.

Dick clipped the passenger seat's seat-belt close and sat down next to Lewis, after he had managed to get Lewis into the car. The car was still pleasantly warm when Dick stepped on the gas to get them on their way home.

~~

Not long after Dick left Buck and Johnny were ready to leave, too. When Buck drove to Johnny's street the car was silent. There wasn't exactly any need to talk. Only when they reached their destination and Johnny got up, Buck raised his voice: “Take care, y'know, and good night. Tell Bull I said hi.”

“Yeah, sure, good night you, too.” Johnny nodded and closed the door, waving briefly as Buck drove off. He hurried to get to the front door – it was fucking cold outside and he was pretty sure Bull was already waiting.

Just after he had entered the flat, Johnny was on his way to the bathroom. He was in desperate need of a shower. He undressed quickly at it felt more like an automatic action than anything he had actually thought about. The hot water on his skin was a blessing and he only turned it off when his skin was starting to itch from the heat. He put on the old shirt and the gray sweatpants that had already waited for him in the bathroom and left for the kitchen to drink something before going to bed. He decided on water – it was not like he had much of a choice anyway.

After he'd put away the bottle of water he walked into the bedroom. Johnny was careful to be quiet, since Bull was probably already asleep. Apparently his guess was wrong, there was still light shining through the slit under the door.

“Hey,” Johnny said quietly when he entered. Bull looked up and smiled a little.

“Johnny. How's your head?” He pointed to the band-aid above Johnny's eyebrow.

“Oh,” Johnny smiled a little and closed the door behind him, “it's nothing. Doesn't even hurt anymore.” He sat down on the bed and yawned.

“I sure am tired, though.”

“I was just about to go to sleep,” Bull informed him with a grin and laid down. Johnny followed his example and then pulled the blanket up to his chin.

“That's good.”

“I think you should call Harry before we go to sleep.” Bull looked at Johnny, who critically raised an eyebrow before nodding and searching for his phone.

It didn't take long until someone picked up the phone.

“This is Kitty, who am I speaking to?” asked the sweet voice of Harry's fianceé.

“Oh, hey Kitty, it's Johnny. Uh, I just want to tell Harry that I'm fine and that I've won, but I guess you can tell him that. No need to wake him up now,” Johnny added, knowing full well that Kitty would actually wake Harry up.

“That's good news.” Even through the phone Kitty radiated this certain mix of friendship and motherly care. “I'll tell Harry to call you tomorrow, if that's alright.”

“Sure. Good night then.”

“Sleep well, John,” Kitty ended the call and Johnny put his phone aside.

Bull looked at him and waited until Johnny had settled under the blanket again, before wrapping his arm around the smaller man. Johnny pecked him on the cheek and moved closer to him.

“Good night, Bull.”

“Good night.” Bull combed his fingers through Johnny's hair briefly before turning the light off. They could both use some sleep.

~~

Dick got out of his car when he reached Lewis' apartment building. He was grateful for the elevator, he knew was inside.

“Come on, Lew, let's get you inside and to bed, alright?” Lewis answer was something slurred and his arm reached out for Dick to hold him. Dick wrapped his arm around Lewis and closed his car's door with his foot. Slowly they moved towards the front door and to the elevator, Dick keeping Lewis steady on his feet.

“I wish you wouldn't drink that much,” Dick mumbled and sighed a little. He was worried about Lew.

Once they were in the apartment, things were easier. Lewis was always cooperative, even when drunk, and let Dick undress him without a complaint. To get him out of his pants Dick pushed Lewis into a sitting position on his bed and kept working on his clothes.

“Are you feeling alright?” Dick asked and inspected Lew worriedly.

“Sure.” Lew dragged the 'r' and laid down with his arms stretched away from his body.

“That's good. I'll be right back.” Sighing Dick got up and went to the kitchen to get a glass of water, newspaper and a bowl in case Lewis should get sick. Once Dick was done with the precautions for the night he stroked Lew's hair gently and watched his face relax.

“Try to get some sleep, okay? I'll be there in the morning. And if anything is wrong, just wake me up.” Lew nodded slowly and despite his condition, Dick was quite sure he'd gotten what he'd just said – he had told Lew the same thing often enough.

Groaning slightly because of his cracking joints, Dick got up and looked at Lew for the last time this night. His body physically ached to be closer to him, but Dick didn't want to ruin the wonderful friendship they had going, so he ignored the twist in his gut like many times before and laid down on the couch after he'd gotten himself a blanket.

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoyed it, leave a comment or a kudos if so!


End file.
